The Jaguar I-PACE has demonstrated its real-world usability by driving 369km from London to Brussels on a single charge.
The all-electric performance SUV began its intercity trip on London’s South Bank, with its 90kWh battery fully charged, before heading to the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone. But unlike the 80 million vehicles that have made the crossing by train since the Channel Tunnel opened, the I-PACE travelled the 50km through the world’s longest undersea tunnel using its own power.
After emerging into the Calais sunshine from the service tunnel which runs between the two rail tunnels, Stephen Boulter, the Jaguar engineer behind the wheel, headed east and arrived at the historic Mons Des Arts in central Brussels with eight per cent battery charge still in reserve.
Stephen Boulter, Vehicle Integration Manager, Jaguar I-PACE, said: “We know customers won’t compromise on everyday usability so we engineered our electric performance SUV to deliver outstanding real-world range.”
“By driving the 369km from London to Brussels on a single charge – and arriving with plenty of range left – we’ve demonstrated how comfortably it deals with long-distance journeys.”
As part of the challenge, the I-PACE cruised along motorways and negotiated rush-hour traffic in the summer heat to reach the Belgian capital.
The I-PACE’s state-of-the-art 90kWh Lithium-ion battery offers sports car performance of 0-100kmh in 4.8 seconds alongside the practicality of a 369 km range (WLTP cycle) and 0-80 per cent charging time of 40 minutes (100kW DC). Home charging with an AC wall box (7kW) will achieve the same state of charge in just over ten hours – ideal for overnight charging.
The instrument cluster can show how much energy certain systems, such as climate control, are using, and how much range could be gained by switching them off. If equipped with four-zone climate control, the Smart Climate feature uses the restraint system’s sensors to determine how many people are in the vehicle and only heat or cool the area around each of them, maintaining comfort while minimising energy consumption.
